Spray painted headboard

This weekend I did a little spray painting. Behold the new bright-red headboard for our guest room. The color is "Safety Red" by Rustoleum Enamel. Because we like our guests to feel safe and have no trouble locating their bed.


This inexpensive, light-weight (you can lift it with two fingers) headboard has held up well for 13 years, but we just bought a different bed and this guy is moving to the guest room. It's got a fake wrought iron paint job that is fancy but no fun.

I didn't prime first since the bed has a rough texture already and it seemed like paint would adhere well. First I tried some Krylon Indoor/Outdoor spray paint in Gloss Tomato. It ended up looking coral and the coverage was pretty bad. The picture above shows how far one can got me. The paint seemed thin and prone to running if I accidentally got the can too close.

Rustoleum enamel had worked great on some curtain brackets I sprayed in just one coat, so I went to Lowes and bought 3 cans of Safety Red.


The color was super vibrant, the paint adhered wonderfully and never ran, and the coverage was terrific. I used two cans and just a tiny bit from a third. Rustoleum enamel doesn't come in as many colors as Krylon, the only downside. But I definitely prefer it.

P.S. It now looks like I have sunburned feet, as they were well-misted during the painting process. That's one way to get a spray tan.